Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Paul Murphy for his question. As he will be aware, the Government will soon establish and publish our sectoral emission ceilings. The Climate Action Plan 2021 set out a reduction range of between 22% and 30% for the agricultural sector from an emissions baseline of 23 MT CO2 equivalent in 2018. The achievement of this target will take a whole-of-government and whole-of-sector approach. I am committed to working with the sector on achieving emissions reductions.

Earlier this year, I established the Food Vision Dairy 2030 group. The objective of this group is to propose measures that will reduce emissions in the dairy sector. The group is currently working on the final report, having submitted an interim report to me a number of weeks ago. A similar group was more recently established for the beef and sheepmeat sectors focused on the climate challenges facing these important sectors.

These groups were not starting with a blank page. We have a roadmap for the sector to reduce emissions over the course of the decade. The climate action plan set out a number of core measures that the sector will need to implement over the coming years. These measures include a significant reduction in chemical nitrogen fertiliser use, which is a key objective of the EU farm to fork strategy. Other important measures include changing the type of fertiliser N we apply, increasing the level of organic farming and reducing the finishing ages of our prime beef animals.

The Teagasc signpost farms initiative, along with many public and private advisors, will play a key role in upskilling farmers in the years ahead. The new CAP strategic plan contains a number of measures that will support a transition to a more sustainable agriculture sector, including increased financial supports for organic farming. Clearly, incentivisation from industry, in addition to regulation where appropriate, will be acquired to achieve our climate objectives. By implementing the measures contained within the climate action plan, I am confident that we can transition the sector to a more long-term sustainable platform with co-benefits for air and water quality and biodiversity, while at all times maintaining productivity in this sector. Strong progress has already been made. We will build on this in the time ahead.

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